The Star, the Night and the Bird
by AngelWarriors
Summary: Even Kings and Queens need a break sometimes, add a picnic basket and a chocobo and you get the perfect date. For Nightsky


**Title: The Star, the Night and the Bird****  
Author: Warangel88  
Pairing: Stella/Noctis  
Warnings/Spoilers: None Really  
Author Notes: Based off an art I found on deviantart. Gift exchange for Nightsky  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Versus  
**  
Stella gently ran a brush through the chocobo's soft, golden feathers, quietly listening to it make a soft "kweh" sound which obviously meant contentment.  
While Stella may not necessarily have known everything about chocobos like the current chocobo caretaker, Diana did, she could tell when a chocobo was happy.

Stella was honestly surprised that Noctis asked her to meet him in the chocobo stables close to noon. He undoubtedly wanted to take her for a ride, which stunned her greatly because lately Noctis had been so busy with meetings with the council, most likely having to deal with the last crystal.

But Stella was happy nonetheless that Noctis had decided to spend the afternoon with her. It had been a while since they were able to spend some together.  
Noctis had been busy ruling his nation and going to meetings, while Stella had been busy trying to keep the peace between his nation and her's, which meant constant traveling back-and-forth between the two.

So naturally, whenever they had free time they would try to spend it together, even if was only for a couple of hours, and she treasured the moments that she spent with him.

Stella heard the bird make a soft "kweh" sound as she heard the footsteps of her master walking through the stables.

That caused her to turn her head and stare at the current king, dressed in his navy-blue street clothes that he wore during the war against her home country, as opposed to the suit that he usually wore these days. Stella knew, however, that Noctis preferred his street clothes more, and of course she was much the same way.

"Were you waiting long Stella?" Noctis asked softly, walking up next to her and the golden chocobo and running his gloved fingers through the golden feathers near the chocobo's head, almost as if he were greeting the large bird.

Stella shook her head, watching her fiancé interact with the female bird, her lips curling into a soft smile as the bird calmly nuzzled her master in a greeting.

"Not really. I just decided to come a bit early and meet Luna," Stella answered.

Stella knew that Diana would take Luna out whenever Noctis couldn't -- which was quite often, recently -- and make sure that the bird got the proper amount of exercise.

"Are you ready to go Stella?" Noctis asked, climbing on top of the golden bird. Stella nodded and instantly placed her foot on the small, wooden step stool. She climbed onto Luna and sat behind Noctis, wrapping her arms around him to keep from falling off and to help stabilize her on the chocobo......not that Noctis seemed to mind.

Stella noticed that Luna didn't seem mind too much about the extra weight. Of course, Luna could have ridden with both of them before, since the bird was strong enough to carry two passengers. The chocobo slowly made its way out of the stables, and the sudden movement caused Stella to lean forward and tighten her grip around Noctis.

But at the same time Stella knew that as soon as its claw-like feet hit the dirt outside, the chocobo would not become so fast that it would purposefully try to shake off its riders.

"So where are we headed Noct?" Stella asked, her breath slightly tickling his ear, causing him to look behind him. Noctis' dark, sapphire eyes met hers, and she could see a smile forming across his lips.

"The river," he replied, and Stella couldn't help but smile softly at his answer. The river had always been her favorite spot.  
Stella held onto Noctis a bit tighter, feeling the yellow bird speed up and move at an extremely faster pace.

It only took about a half an hour to reach the river. They preferred the slow, shallow parts so they would be able to strip barefoot and stand in the river, feeling the cool, refreshing water against their legs.

Stella felt the golden chococbo kneel down, making it somewhat easier for her passengers to get off her back. Stella carefully got of the chocobo, trying not to injure the bird or cause it even the slightest bit of harm.

Stella felt Noctis climb down off of the chocobo after her before offering a green to the bird, as if it were a reward for bringing them there.  
Stella sat down next to a tree trunk, watching her fiancé feed the golden chocobo until it was satisfied before deciding to join her underneath the tree, this time holding a basket.

"A gift from Jules," Noctis remarked, setting the basket in-between them. Stella slightly smiled at the cook's name. No doubt he made them something good, a full-course meal including dessert and a bottle of wine, knowing him.

"So he heard about our little date?" Stella teased, opening the small basket. She noticed that the head chef made sandwiches, some type of pasta salad, homemade cookies of all different kinds, and a bottle of wine -- half of a bottle from the look of it.

"Titus told him probably," Noctis replied. His his lips curled into a slight grin, and Stella couldn't help but smile in return. It did seem to be in Titus' nature somewhat, or maybe he purposefully did it knowing that the kindhearted chef would cook them a meal.

"Is he trying to get us drunk?" Stella asked, lifting up the bottle of wine. She knew that she had a high tolerance to alcohol, however, she wasn't completely sure if it was the same for Noctis.

"Unlikely," he replied, recalling the time he tried to get Titus drunk, along with Shad and Marcus during the war. Apparently, it turned out that Titus was the one with lower tolerance for alcohol, while Noctis had the highest.

Stella nodded, but nonetheless bit into the cookie, noting by its softness and chewiness that it was fresh from the oven.

It didn't really take long for them to finish their lunch without leaving a trace of food behind, each of them only having one glass of wine.  
They ate for perhaps an hour at the most, while casual chatter filled the air, mostly on how both their countries were doing and other little stories.

Stella stripped off her knee-length boots and socks and laid them on a pile near the picnic basket before moving to the water's edge.

She slowly placed one bare foot in the cool river water before putting the other one in. The river was deep enough to stand in, and the cool water came up to her knees. The current was slow enough so that a person wouldn't be washed away by it.

A small squeak escaped her lips as Stella felt Noctis' arms wrap around her stomach from behind, which caused her to slightly lean forward, laughing softly.  
Stella could hear his warm laughter in her ear which caused her to smile. She loved seeing her fiancé happy, and he honestly deserved all the happiness he could get.

She glanced at the yellow chocobo, which made a soft "kweh" sound as it watched them play in the river. Stella knew that this day would come to an end, and they would be forced to go to back to the palace when it got a bit darker.

But for now, Stella would enjoy the time she had with Noctis that did not involve politics or ballrooms.

**-the end**

**please review  
**


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